It looks like the Knicks will be at full strength to start the Eastern Conference Finals.
OG Anunoby (hamstring) practiced fully again with the Knicks on Monday and was listed as probable for the opener against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Although it is unclear whether the Knicks will be able to maintain the momentum of their seven-game winning streak after an extended layoff, the team has already benefited from the rest and rehab of the most impactful player on the roster.
Anunoby, who has not played since being injured in the final minutes of Game 2 of the second-round series against the 76ers, will be 13 days away from his last game when he steps on the court for Game 1 against Cleveland.
Two years ago, Anunoby’s hamstring injury during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals derailed the season — the Knicks’ 2-0 lead turned into a seven-game defeat to the Pacers, with the struggling Anunoby briefly making a comeback for the series-ending loss — but the 28-year-old said this weekend that the current issue wasn’t a concern.
“It was definitely not like the previous ones,” Anunoby said. “So, it was better than before. … I never thought about the past. Just dealing with it in the moment. I didn’t feel as bad as I felt in the past when it happened, so just knowing that, I’m just trying to improve day by day.”
Anunoby was arguably the Knicks’ best player in the postseason, averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and a team-best 1.9 steals, while shooting 61.9 percent from the field, including a team-high 53.8 percent on 3-pointers.
Mike Brown has been here before.
Brown, who won four championships as an assistant, enters the Eastern Conference Finals as a head coach for the third time in his career.
His first two trips (2007, 2009) came with Cleveland, where his son Cameron spent most of his childhood, then played football and coached at local Case Western Reserve University.
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“I had a great time there…but my youngest son really loves Cleveland,” said Brown, whose son is now a 49ers assistant. “The only thing that brought back memories was he said he might come back to Cleveland to play a game. He didn’t go anywhere else, but he might come to Cleveland to play a game.”
In Brown’s last trip to the conference finals, the LeBron James-led Cavaliers swept the first two rounds.
After an eight-day hiatus, Cleveland faced Orlando, which upset the Cavaliers despite coming off a seven-game series against the defending champion Celtics.
“You’re always trying to rely on things you’ve done in the past,” said Brown, who enters another game with a similar disparity in comfort. “But at the same time, this team is different. It’s a different time. You rely on your past experiences. You rely on the players. You rely on the coaches around you.”